Before the Europenas colonized Bolivia, the parts of the country in that fell under the Andes were part of the Inca Empire - which was the largest Pre-Columbian American state. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century - and during the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was named "Upper Peru", and was supervised by theViceroyalty of Peru, which included Spain's South American colonies. Bolivia declared their independence in 1809, and 16 years of war followed, before they established the "Republic", which was named for Simón Bolívar, on August 6th, in 1825.
Bolivia is a Democratic Republic, and is officially classified as a "developing country", with a poverty level of around 60%. It's geography ranges from the peaks of the Andes to the West to the Amazon Basin in the Eastern Lowlands.
Currently, Bolivia's population is around 10 million and is home to Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, and Africans. The main spoken language is Spanish, but there are 36 indigenous languages that are official, including Aymara and Quechua.
The Average Bolivian
Bolivia's population density is 24 people per square mile. Their population is growing 1.78% per year, which is 79th in the world. The life expectancy is 66.9 years, and the median age, as of 2009. 87% of people are literate. The main religions are Christianity (93%), Ethnic Religions (2.6%) and the Bahá'í Faith (2%).
Money
The currency in Bolivia is called the Bolivian boliviano ($b1), and one $b1 is worth 14.3 US cents. The GDP is $17.09 billion per year, and the per capita income is $1730 per person per year, and the GDP growth is +3.48% per year. The consumer price inflation is +3.35% per year, and the unemployment rate is 5.4%.
Government
The current Bolivia president is Juan Evo Morales Ayma (Evo Morales). He is 51 years old, and was born on October 26, 1959. Morales has been president since January 22, 2006. Before him the presidents were Eduardo Rodríguez, who was president from June 2005 to January 2006, and before Rodríguez was Carlos Mesa, who was president from October 2003 to June 2005.
Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) is the man that Bolivia is named after. He was born in Venezuela, but became Bolivia's main political leaders and one of the founding-fathers. He was Bolivia's president from August 12, 1825 to December 29, 1825. He is well known for helping other South American countries get independence from Spain, and he was also president of a few other South American countries.
Tourism
Bolivia has many tourist attractions, both artificial and natural, and tourism in Bolivia has grown since 1990, despite certain road bumps in their history.
The Andes
Some natural attractions include the highest mountain range outside of Asia: the Andes, which cross Bolivia. They are also the longest exposed mountain range in the world.
La Paz
La Paz, which is Bolivia's seat of government is the highest government city in the world, at 12,010 ft (3,660 meters).
Lake Titicaca is also a large tourist attractions in Bolivia. It is one of the the world's highest lakes that is able to be commercially visited. It is home to the Uros, the pre-Incan people who live on artificial floating islands on the lake.
Lake Titicaca
Much great food comes from Bolivia. One of the classic, delicious desserts is called "Tawa-Tawas". It includes flour, baking powder, salt, butter, eggs, water or milk, butter or oil, and honey, and when completed makes fluffy goodness known as Tawa-Tawas. To see the full recipe, click here.
Delicious Tawa-Tawas
If you would like to spend a day in Bolivia I urge you to do so, and a sample day is listed here.
(Note: you should beware of the dangers of Boliva as well, so please check out this link.)
Bolivia
Table of Contents
History
Before the Europenas colonized Bolivia, the parts of the country in that fell under the Andes were part of the Inca Empire - which was the largest Pre-Columbian American state. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century - and during the Spanish colonial period Bolivia was named "Upper Peru", and was supervised by theViceroyalty of Peru, which included Spain's South American colonies. Bolivia declared their independence in 1809, and 16 years of war followed, before they established the "Republic", which was named for Simón Bolívar, on August 6th, in 1825.
Bolivia is a Democratic Republic, and is officially classified as a "developing country", with a poverty level of around 60%. It's geography ranges from the peaks of the Andes to the West to the Amazon Basin in the Eastern Lowlands.
The Average Bolivian
Bolivia's population density is 24 people per square mile. Their population is growing 1.78% per year, which is 79th in the world. The life expectancy is 66.9 years, and the median age, as of 2009. 87% of people are literate. The main religions are Christianity (93%), Ethnic Religions (2.6%) and the Bahá'í Faith (2%).
Money
The currency in Bolivia is called the Bolivian boliviano ($b1), and one $b1 is worth 14.3 US cents. The GDP is $17.09 billion per year, and the per capita income is $1730 per person per year, and the GDP growth is +3.48% per year. The consumer price inflation is +3.35% per year, and the unemployment rate is 5.4%.
Government
The current Bolivia president is Juan Evo Morales Ayma (Evo Morales). He is 51 years old, and was born on October 26, 1959. Morales has been president since January 22, 2006. Before him the presidents were Eduardo Rodríguez, who was president from June 2005 to January 2006, and before Rodríguez was Carlos Mesa, who was president from October 2003 to June 2005.
Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) is the man that Bolivia is named after. He was born in Venezuela, but became Bolivia's main political leaders and one of the founding-fathers. He was Bolivia's president from August 12, 1825 to December 29, 1825. He is well known for helping other South American countries get independence from Spain, and he was also president of a few other South American countries.
Tourism
Bolivia has many tourist attractions, both artificial and natural, and tourism in Bolivia has grown since 1990, despite certain road bumps in their history.
Some natural attractions include the highest mountain range outside of Asia: the Andes, which cross Bolivia. They are also the longest exposed mountain range in the world.
La Paz, which is Bolivia's seat of government is the highest government city in the world, at 12,010 ft (3,660 meters).
Lake Titicaca is also a large tourist attractions in Bolivia. It is one of the the world's highest lakes that is able to be commercially visited. It is home to the Uros, the pre-Incan people who live on artificial floating islands on the lake.
Much great food comes from Bolivia. One of the classic, delicious desserts is called "Tawa-Tawas". It includes flour, baking powder, salt, butter, eggs, water or milk, butter or oil, and honey, and when completed makes fluffy goodness known as Tawa-Tawas. To see the full recipe, click here.
If you would like to spend a day in Bolivia I urge you to do so, and a sample day is listed here.
(Note: you should beware of the dangers of Boliva as well, so please check out this link.)
References:
1. "Bolivia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia)
2. "Bolivia - Wolfam|Alpha" (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Bolivia)
3. "Bolivia President Wolfram|Alpha" (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=BoliviaBolivia+president)
4. "Bolivia.gif" (GIF Image) (http://travel.state.gov/_res/images/countries/maps/large/bolivia.gif)
5. "Bolivia_.gif (GIF Image) (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kMfGtqfK1_Y/TS5UNB0Cd8I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Y-t3noqlHDI/s1600/bolivia_.gif)
6. Bolivian President Evo Morales (http://ecolocalizer.com/files/2008/09/bolivian-president-evo-morales.jpg)
7. Concentracion En Sucre Bolivia (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IcA5rZf1N2o/RulGWVzBX_I/AAAAAAAAARQ/52O8bY7eAzk/s400/3130G_concentracion_en_sucre_bolivia.JPG)
8. "Famous People From Bolivia" (http://www.travel-bolivia.com/famous-people-from-bolivia.html)
9. "Simón Bolívar_1825.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Sim%C3%B3n_Bol%C3%ADvar,_1825.jpg)
10. "Tourism in Bolivia" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Bolivia)
11. "Pictures of Santa Cruz Bolivia, music by Gladys Moreno" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Y0ECglw9o)
12. BolivAndes.jpg (http://www.rutahsa.com/BolivAndes.jpg)
13. La_Paz_400 (http://laniel.free.fr/INDEXES/GraphicsIndex/LA%20PAZ%202/La_Paz_400.jpg)
14. Lake-Titicaca-500 (http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/bolivia/images/lake-titicaca-500.jpg)
15. The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca (http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/topdestlaketiticaca/a/floatingislands.htm)
16. CIA - The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bl.html)
17. Andes Mountain Range (http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes.htm)
18. Inca (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/south/cultures/inca.html)
19. Discovery: The Spanish Empire (http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/EMPIRE.HTM)
20. Viceroyalty of Peru - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroyalty_of_Peru)
21. "Bolivia" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO5FwiLntso
22. Bolivia Web - Recipes Gallery - Tawa-Tawas (http://www.boliviaweb.com/recipes/english/tawatawas.htm)
23. "Tawas-Tawas" (http://www.theslowcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/tawas-tawas-0072-300x222.jpg)
24. Bolivia Travel Advice (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/south-america/bolivia)